College basketball notebook: Kruger says team isn't rebuilding

Posted: Tuesday, April 05, 2011

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NORMAN, Okla. - New Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger has been through a couple of rebuilding projects.

This, he says, is different.

"This program has got great tradition, so we're not rebuilding. We're not bringing it back," Kruger told a crowd of hundreds who gathered Monday at McCasland Fieldhouse to see him formally introduced as the Sooners' coach.

"We're just hoping to continue what's been very good here for a long time."

Oklahoma is only two years removed from a trip to the regional finals of the NCAA tournament, but the span since then represents the school's first back-to-back losing seasons since 1967.

Kruger, 58, spent the last seven seasons rebuilding a struggling program at UNLV and before that coached at Illinois, Kansas State and Florida. He took all four of those schools to the NCAA tournament.

"The thing we do regardless is surround ourselves with as good of players as we possibility can, and good people. We've always had a staff of coaches that are very genuinely interested and motivated out of the well-being for the student-athlete, not only on the court but off and in every way," Kruger said.

"I think in doing that, the players understand that we're motivated out of an interest in helping them."

Kruger said he hadn't finalized his staff but he expected it to be a "blend" of his assistants from UNLV and newcomers.

Kruger replaces Jeff Capel, who was fired three weeks ago after five seasons as Oklahoma's coach.

Missouri officials hadn't confirmed the hiring. University curators are meeting Monday night in a closed session to consider Haith's contract, and an official announcement could come as early as today.

Haith will replace Mike Anderson, who left the Tigers late last month to take over at Arkansas. Haith went 129-101 in seven seasons with the Hurricanes, including 21-15 this season, when they played in the NIT.

The Hurricanes went 43-69 in the Atlantic Coast Conference under Haith and made the NCAA tournament once, losing in the second round in 2008.

"Frank Haith has been a steady leader and made a positive impact on the University of Miami men's basketball program," said Tony Hernandez, Miami's acting athletic director. "We want to wish him well at Missouri, and will begin a national search for a new head coach immediately."

Haith's departure means the three most prominent positions in the Miami athletic department will have turned over in a matter of months. Randy Shannon was fired as football coach in November and replaced by Al Golden, and Kirby Hocutt resigned as athletic director in February to take the same job at Texas Tech.

Haith met with Miami's players on Monday afternoon to tell them about his decision, and Hernandez said the group was "disappointed." Hernandez, who received word Sunday from Missouri athletic director Mike Alden that the Tigers were talking to Haith, said he doesn't have a timetable to find Haith's replacement.

"My goal would be for it not to last a month, but we're not going to give a definite timeline on that," Hernandez said. "Our goal and our priority is to find the best coach possible in however long that takes."

Hernandez acknowledged the move caught Miami off guard. By midday Monday, he said he had a list of 20 possible candidates.

Missouri's hiring of Haith comes after the school tried unsuccessfully to lure away Purdue's Matt Painter, who wound up staying with the Boilermakers and accepting an eight-year extension. The Tigers have made three consecutive NCAA tournaments, and their 77 wins over the past three seasons is the best such total in school history.

Haith's imminent hiring has surprised and disappointed many Missouri faithful still reeling from the departure of Anderson, who turned down a contract extension and healthy raise to instead return to Arkansas, where he spent 17 years as a Nolan Richardson assistant.

After Painter's decision, fans, boosters and alumni remained hopeful that Missouri could lure a rising star such as Virginia Commonwealth's Shaka Smart, who agreed to a new contract that was announced Monday; or a proven commodity such as Minnesota's Tubby Smith, who reportedly passed on Missouri's overtures over the weekend.

Also on Monday, a pair of junior Missouri starters declared for the NBA draft in a move the school said was not related to the coaching change. Both Laurence Bowers and Kim English have not hired agents, meaning they can return to school next year if their NBA plans don't work out.

A return to the Big 12 may have been part of the lure for Haith. He was an assistant at Texas A&M in 1992-95, then returned to the Aggies as an associate head coach for the 1996-97 season. After leaving for Wake Forest, Haith spent three years on Rick Barnes' staff at Texas before taking the Miami job in 2004.

Even before Haith's hiring became official, some Missouri students spoke Monday afternoon of an organized protest outside the curators' meeting. Others encouraged those upset with the choice to urge curators by email to think twice.

Board member David Wasinger told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch he expects his colleagues to "have a lot of questions" about the surprise hire.

The potential tumult surrounding Monday night's closed-door meeting brings to mind the rancor surrounding Alden's last hire of a men's basketball coach five years ago.

That was when Alden was summoned by curators to explain his handling of Quin Snyder's botched firing - a task Alden delegated to a team broadcaster - and fight for his job.